Brewery #4: Dad Watson's (McMenamins)

McMenamin's was a blast. The beer was unique and the atmosphere was fun. The brewery is located in Fremont, which apparently is a pain to get to on a Friday night in traffic. However, it was worth the long wait and the long walk after we gave up on sitting in traffic and parked the car quite a few blocks away.

I really liked McMenamin's beer, especially the Ruby Ale. The sampler had 6 different beers and there were more on tap. Everyone had a lot to drink at this bar, so the pictures are a little goofy. I'm guessing this won't be the only time I get some hilarious pictures out of this little project.

Ruby Ale
This is McMenamin's raspberry ale. I've had cherry beer and apricot beer and even blueberry beer but this was the first time I've had raspberry beer. I found it rather delicious. It tastes like fruit juice and mixes really well with the Terminator Stout, which I'll get to later.

Hammerhead Ale

No one could decide if this was an IPA or not. The menu described it as a hoppy pale ale, so I guess you could call it an IPA if you really want. I thought this beer was really good. It had a rich flavor and the hops weren't overdone.

India Pale Ale

I thought this beer tasted like nail polish. I hated it. Everyone else at the table thought it was pretty good but no one could tell me why. I might be a little bit biased because I don't like IPA's but even if I did, I think this beer would still taste like toes.

Porter

This is your typical chocolate, coffee flavored porter but the blend seems to be a little off. It tasted a little funny but I can't put my finger on what was wrong. Overall, it was nothing impressive.

Terminator Stout

The Terminator is a good stout. It's a little watery but had good flavor and was easy to drink.

Seasonal Madness (Nut Brown)

I'm not sure if the nut brown is actually their seasonal or if they just ran out of the seasonal and gave me the nut brown. I could definitely taste the nuts in this one and I rather enjoyed it. I give this beer a thumbs up.

RUBINATOR

This was my favorite beer of the night and it's not even a real beer. This is the combination of the Ruby Ale and the Terminator Stout. It's not on the menu and I never would've thought of it without Kelsey mentioning it. I think there should be more raspberry stouts. The subtle fruit flavor is a good contrast to the typically thick, chocolaty beer. It's a great mix and if you ask for it the waitress will definitely know what you're talking about.

So there you have it, Dad Watson's was a fun brewery with some great beer. This will do it for the long list of McMenamin's breweries since the beer is the same at each location. If you ever want to check another one out they're in Queen Anne and Seattle too.

Cheers!